


Team 7's Time Travel for Dummies

by junistired



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), BAMF Haruno Sakura, BAMF Hatake Kakashi, BAMF Uchiha Sasuke, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto) Feels, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 Have Issues (Naruto), Dai-nana-han | Team 7 as Family (Naruto), Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura-centric, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Humor, Light Angst, Mokuton User Haruno Sakura, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rinnegan User Sasuke, Rinnegan User Uchiha Sasuke, Sort of? - Freeform, Suicidal Thoughts, Swearing, Team Dynamics, Time Shenanigans, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Uchiha Sasuke Has Issues, Uchiha Sasuke-centric, Uzumaki Naruto-centric, but i can't tell y'all yet bc i want it to be a surprise, i'm new to posting on ao3 sorry i don't really know how to tag yet, i've finally figured out what i'm gunna do w kakashi, just because i've taken a few psychology courses doesn't make me a psychologist, or what to tag, umm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25911838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junistired/pseuds/junistired
Summary: Team 7 finds themselves waking up nearly a decade into the past, on the morning they met Kakashi-sensei for the first time.—But there's a catch.None of the four realize that they've ALL gone back in time . . .Needless to say they find it a bit (frustrating, nerve-wracking) confusing that things are seemingly changing without their direct influence.Watch as they make fools of themselves trying to keep their time traveling a secret from one another, all whilst they desperately try to change fate.
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Haruno Sakura, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Uchiha Sasuke, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura & Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura & Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura & Uzumaki Naruto, Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke, Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 98
Kudos: 788





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> if there;s anything i should've tagged that i missed please let me know  
> thank you

Kakashi frowned. Something wasn’t right. For starters, every single one of his ( _ not yet, future _ ) students was staring at one another suspiciously. This is . . .  _ odd _ , for a start.

When he’d woken to find himself in the past, he hadn’t been expecting there to be any changes so soon, not before he’d even had the chance to do anything yet!

And yet. And  _ yet _ . . .

Everything was different.

Sakura’s hair was in a high ponytail. Naruto wasn’t wearing his jacket. And Sasuke . . .  _ Sasuke wasn’t wearing his hitai-ate _ .

Hm. How . . .  _ odd _ .

* * *

What the fuck. What the fuck.  _ What the fuck _ .

What’s going on. What the  _ fuck _ is going on.

He’s short. Why is he short? He’s . . . in his apartment? But— _ no _ , that’s not right, this apartment got destroyed during Pein’s attack, he  _ knows _ it did, so why . . .

_ Why the fuck is he in his childhood apartment, in his childhood clothes, with his childhood hair and his childhood height. _

What the ever-loving  _ fuck _ —

* * *

“Sakura! It’s time to get up!”

Huh . . . ?

“Hurry up! You’re going to be late!”

_ Huh _ . . . ?

“It’s your last day, Sakura! C’mon, up and at ‘em!”

**_Huh_ ** **. . . ?**

“Sakura!”

**_HUH?!_ **

* * *

_ Chirp chirp _ .

Eh?

_ Creak _ .

. . . eh?

“Refurbished shuriken and kunai, half-off!”

Ehh?

“First come, first serve! We’ve got a limited stock today, folx!”

Ehhhh?!

“Konoha’s finest metalwork!”

— _ Konoha?! _

* * *

“My first impression of you guys . . . hm.” Kakashi tilted his head thoughtfully, and eye-smiled. “Creepy.”

“ _ Ehhh?! _ ”

* * *

What—what day is it? What—Academy or shinobi, Academy, or shinobi?!  _ Ah! _ —a hitai-ate! Shinobi, shinobi! Ah, but . . . what . . .  _ ah! _ Calendar! Yes, yes— _ ah?! _ Today is . . . ?!

* * *

Sakura twitched violently.  _ Long hair _ , she shuddered. Pretty, but . . . when you’re not used to it . . .  _ feels like something creepy is caressing your back _ . 

Mind made up, Sakura began digging through her belongings looking for a hair tie.

_ Why couldn’t her younger self be more organized? Ugh . . . _

* * *

Sasuke’s going to kill his younger self. Why the fuck didn’t he keep a calendar? What, did he think he was too  _ good _ for calendars? What, you just gonna memorize everything? All your important event dates?  _ Well you weren’t prepared for this, were you. _

_ Fuck you, mini-me _ , Sasuke hissed.

Guess he’ll just,  _ wander around  _ until — _ ah _ . Is that . . . ?

_ Hitai-ate _ , he sneered.  _ Fuck Konoha _ .

But . . .  _ ugh _ , can’t do much as a missing-nin, can he? Certainly didn’t work out so well last time . . .  _ ugh _ .

Fucking  _ fine _ . He’ll . . .  _ carry  _ the thing.  _ I guess _ .

Ugh.

* * *

Naruto squirmed uncomfortably. This was . . . not comfortable. Not comfortable at all. How the heck had he moved in this? This jacket is like . . . several times too big. No wonder the sleeves are so rolled up,  _ sage _ .

He . . . he can’t wear this. This is way too restricting.  _ How the fuck is he supposed to fight in this _ ?

No. No way. Mesh tee it is then. If anyone’s got any complaints, then  _ well  _ . . . fuck ‘em. No way is he wearing that jacket,  _ muri muri _ .

* * *

Sakura smoothed her thumb over the carving in her hitai-ate as she walked to class. She was struggling . . . with how to wear it.

Part of her wanted to wear it as a headband to pull back her hair like she had done when she was a child, a point of pride to show she wasn’t ashamed of the size of her forehead. But now . . . all she can think of is how easy it would be for someone to kill her by going for the head.

Hitai-ate are special in that they don’t just have a steel plate . . . most people don’t realize this, but even the fabric itself is made with a very special material interwoven with metal alloy to make it as strong as any mesh armour.

So, despite being called a “forehead protector,” it actually protects more than just the forehead—if worn the correct way, it protects all around the sides of the brain so the only way someone could kill you with a blade to the skull is if they aimed specifically for the top of the head . . . but since many don’t know this, it ends up saving countless lives . . .  _ if _ they wear it  _ correctly _ .

Mind made up, Sakura paused outside the door to the classroom to tie her forehead protector so it  _ protected _ her  _ forehead _ .

Vanity has no place in shinobi warfare.

And with that taken care of, she took her first step into the Academy in nearly a decade.

* * *

_ Target spotted _ .

There’s only one person in the village with pink hair, and it wasn’t that hard to find her—not when he knew where she lived.

That . . . sounded creepy. But he didn’t mean it like that,  _ he swears _ . She’s  _ twelve _ , for sage’s sake. That’s  _ gross _ .

. . . Anyway.

_ Target located _ — _ in pursuit _ .

_ She’s _ —ah. Academy? He already has his hitai-ate ( _ ugh _ ), so that must mean . . . they’re being assigned to their teams today? Cool, cool. I mean, he would've rather gone back a bit further and saved his entire family from being massacred, but— _ whatevs _ . It’s just his  _ entire family and his brother’s sanity and reputation, nothing important, who fucking gives a shit, wHATEVER _ —

* * *

It’s . . . kinda cold. Should probably . . . get a new wardrobe. Of things that actually fit. So he doesn’t have to walk around in a mesh top and oversized orange pants.

That . . . will probably have to wait until he actually gets some money. Lucky lucky, should start getting missions sometime soon.

Seriously, though. It’s cold.

* * *

Naruto’s . . . not wearing a shirt.

Well, he’s wearing a shirt, just not . . . hm. Okay.

Gonna ignore that. Yup, yup—nothing to see there,  _ nope _ .

None of her business.

Although . . . did he do that last time? She was mostly just paying attention to Sasuke-chan.

_ Hm _ . Probably . . .  _ shouldn’t  _ call him Sasuke-chan at this point—it wouldn’t probably just freak him out.

Does that mean she should go back to calling him “Sasuke-kun”?

_ Nah _ . That’s gross.

* * *

Something’s . . . different about Sakura. Did she used to wear her hair in a ponytail when it was long? That doesn’t sound right . . . and, did she . . . did she used to wear her hitai-ate on her forehead? Could’ve sworn she used to wear it as a hair accessory at this age . . .

Then again . . . didn’t she used to be self-conscious about her forehead, or something? Maybe she hadn’t gotten over it at this point, and so that’s why she’s covering it up.

Hmm,  _ strange  _ . . .

Wait, is Naruto  _ shirtless _ —

* * *

_ Ahh . . .  _ this classroom is so fucking cold, what the fuck.

_ I wish Iruka-sensei would get this over with already . . . _

_ Ah, Iruka-sensei . . . good old Iruka-sensei . . . _

_ Definitely not thinking about his gruesome death and how it made me wanna kill myself, nOPE— _

_ Oi, why is everyone staring at me? The fuck? _

* * *

Okay, she’s like  _ ninety-percent sure _ Naruto used to wear a shirt.

Mesh undershirts don’t count.

_ So why _ . . . could she have caused ripples this early on already?  _ But why the fuck would her presence in the past cause Naruto to not wear a shirt, what the FUCK _ —

* * *

Sakura . . . is staring  _ really _ intently at Naruto.

_ I thought _ . . . didn’t she used to hate Naruto, or something?

Then again, she doesn’t really look like she’s staring at a crush.

_ More like she’s staring at a duck humming showtunes from atop an elephant's head. _

Like she’s looking at something really weird and doesn’t know what to make of it.

_ Sasuke  _ . . .  _ can relate _ .

Wait, _shit_ —is this _his_ fault?! Was Naruto really not _not_ wearing a shirt in the original timeline?! Fuck, did he mess things up already?! No fair, he didn’t even get to _do_ _anything_ yet!

And speaking of,  _ how the fuck did he cause this _ ?! How is this  _ his _ fault?!

_ What the FU _ —

* * *

_ Creepy _ . . .

Why . . . why is everyone staring at him. This is getting really creepy, what the fuck.

Leave him alone,  _ what did he do _ ?!

_ AHH _ _ —! _

* * *

“Team 7 . . .” Iruka flinched as three heads jerked up.  _ Three very specific heads _ . . . “Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke,” he continued hesitantly. All three let out a heavy sigh.  _ O-kay, then _ . . .

Whoever told them, it didn’t matter now. Though he can’t help but wonder . . .  _ who _ —?

* * *

“My first impression of you all . . .”

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke leaned in.

“Creepy.”

_ Huh _ —?!


	2. Part 2

"Maa…meet me on the roof, I guess," he shrugged.  _ That's what he'd said last time, right? Sage, that was so long ago… _

* * *

When Kakashi first woke up, he'd found himself collapsed over the Memorial Stone, and for a few seconds he was sure he was dead— _ again _ .

The last thing he remembered was the enemy attempting to activate a—seal? jutsu?— _ something _ that was meant to "destroy their past selves," thereby preventing Team 7 from ever confronting them and trying to stop them in the first place. 

It was a last ditch effort, an action taken in desperation and panic when they realized that they were going to lose. 

And Team 7 couldn't let it happen. 

They all jumped at the same time, and…

That's the last thing he remembers. 

Whatever their enemy's jutsu was really supposed to do, it must have malfunctioned when Team 7 interrupted it. 

Kakashi can't think of any other reason why a technique that was supposed to destroy their past selves would instead result in him seemingly being sent back in time to a point when the Memorial Stone still stood. 

_ Nope, can't think of anything… _

* * *

When the brats finally showed up Kakashi was disappointed to note that they were  _ still _ being weird. 

All three of them looked really stressed out for some reason. Naruto was hunched in on himself with his arms wrapped around his torso, but he didn't look  _ scared _ . More… _ creeped out _ . Sakura and Sasuke both were staring intently at Naruto out of the corners of their eyes. They seemed…oddly  _ panicked _ . 

He…didn't want to know. But, he's almost certain that things weren't like this last time—Naruto was stupidly proud, Sakura was fawning over Sasuke, and Sasuke was sulking whilst trying his best to ignore everyone around him. 

This…was not that. Hm. 

"Alright," Kakashi started, desperately trying to remember his lines. Should he keep it the same?  _ Could _ he even keep it the same? He could barely even  _ remember _ what happened last time, much less match it perfectly. Maybe…should he try to be more open this time? Bond more with the kids? Maybe then, this time Sasuke won't…

"Yosh," he started again, "Why don't we get to know each other, ne? I'll start: My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I like, hm…I like eggplant and dislike anything fried or sweet. My hobby is reading. My dreams for the future,  _ hm _ …for my loved ones to have long, happy lives."

Kakashi smiled. "Alright, now you guys."

. . .

_ Silence _ .

Kakashi opened his lone eye. The brats were…staring at him in horror. Hm. That's…an extreme reaction. He didn't  _ think _ he'd said anything strange? Did they not like eggplant or something?  _ Ah _ , that's right—don't most kids love fried and sweet foods? That must be it. 

_ Can't think of any other reason, nope— _

"Well?" Kakashi prompted. 

The three genin shared a look of fear, and then seemed briefly confused that they'd all done so. 

Kakashi coughed, "Maa…how about we start with you, Sakura?"

"Eh—? You know my name?!"

_ Ah, fuck— _

"Of course. You think they wouldn't tell me that much when they assigned this team to me?"

_ Nice save.  _

"O-oh…alright, then…My name is Haruno Sakura. I…I like anko dumplings, and I dislike spicy food. My hobbies…I like memorizing information, everything from trivia to schoolwork. My dream…hm." Sakura thought for a second. "…world peace."

Kakashi blinked. That…was a noble goal. A very big one, too. Also, definitely not what she had said last time. He's not quite sure what she  _ did _ say, but he's almost certain it involved Sasuke in some way.  _ Hm… _

"That's a good goal to have, Sakura. And you, Naruto?"

Naruto reluctantly unfolded himself. "I, uh…My name is Uzumaki Naruto, but you all know that already…I like ramen and I dislike uncooked vegetables…I like pulling pranks and watering my plants. Uh…my dreams…hm." Naruto frowned for a moment, then said slowly— _ in a far more serious manner than Kakashi would have expected _ —"My dream is to become Hokage, and to change Konoha for the better."

That…was also a nice goal, though he's not sure Naruto phrased it quite that way last time. Naruto was more… _ knuckleheaded _ as a kid. Less serious.  _ Odd… _

"Another admirable dream," Kakashi smiled, "and you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke stared. "Uchiha Sasuke. I like tomatoes; I don't like sweet things. My hobbies are training and taking walks. I don't have a  _ dream _ …what I have is an ambition, because I  _ will _ make it a reality—I will get justice for my clan, and no one will ever have to go through what I did— _ not ever again _ ."

That's…hm. Not much different, although there was a peculiar lack of murder threats…odd. 

"All great goals! And now that we've got that out of the way—meet me tomorrow morning at the third training ground. Don't eat, or you'll be sick. There we'll test if you're  _ really _ ready to be genin—and if you _ fail _ , you go back to the Academy and you get to try again next year. Good luck!"

_ Poof _ . 

* * *

"Oi," said Naruto. "Did he…say  _ when _ we were supposed to meet?"

"No."

"Hm. Ok."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got about halfway through the next chapter before i remembered i forgot to do the whole "introduction on the roof" thing.......  
> so, i wrote this  
> next part should be added sometime today


	3. Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i say "sometime today"? i meant in like ten minutes.

_ Everything felt fuzzy. Someone…was speaking? _

"Are you sure this will work?"

"Probably."

"Probably?!"

_ That's Naruto. Naruto, and…Orochimaru? _

" _ Naruto _ ."

Sakura found herself glaring up at him from where she lay on the ground. "We've already been over this."

_ Why was she…? _

"Still—"

"We're running out of options," Sasuke interrupted. 

_ Sasuke-chan? _

" _ Naruto _ ."

_ Ah. That's sensei. So the gang's all here…but where is "here"? _

"Kaka-sensei…?"

"None of us wants to do this, but we don't have a choice. Orochimaru?"

"It's ready."

_ What…what's ready? _

"Alright. Sakura?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

_ Ready for what? I don't—I don't like this… _

Kakashi spent a moment staring at Sakura; She wondered what he saw. "Yosh. Do it."

_ Wait—! _

Orochimaru plunged the syringe into Sakura's spine.

* * *

She woke up screaming. 

* * *

_ Hmm…maybe I should cut my hair… _

She'd woken up that morning with her hair tangled around her and plastered to her skin with cold sweat, and all she could think about was how they'd resorted to shaving their heads at the end of it all to prevent their enemies from gaining any sort of advantage. 

_ No…that'd be too much of a change, wouldn't it? Better to just stick with tying it up. Maybe I should put it in a hat or something when I sleep… _

As she got up to get a hair tie, she noticed how the wood of her bed was warped inward. Her chakra spiked, and it was back to normal. 

* * *

Naruto dug around in his closet. These couldn't be the only clothes he owned…he specifically remembers he didn't even  _ get _ the damn jumpsuit until his final year at the Academy. 

_ So, there's gotta be something…aha! _

A sleeveless orange hoodie is better than nothing, and this scarf should still fit…just in case he gets cold again, y'know. 

So long as he wears the hoodie though, he shouldn't need it.  _ Now, if he could just find some easier-to-move-in pants… _

* * *

Sasuke paused as he passed a mirror. 

_ Did…did his hair always look this stupid? _

There was a flash of purple, before his eyes were back to normal. 

He shifted his hair absentmindedly so his left eye was covered. 

_ Better safe than sorry. _

* * *

_ Hm…  _

Naruto finally found a pair of better fitting pants, but they had no pockets— _ probably why he stopped wearing them in the first place. _

No worries. 

A few years into the war they'd taken shelter in the ruins of Uzushiogakure, and there he'd found dozens of surprisingly well-preserved scrolls on fuuinjutsu. 

Even Sasuke had been impressed with how fast he'd flown through them.

Sealing just came naturally for him, it seemed. 

Luckily, storage seals were the easiest to perfect, and took practically no time at all to scribe.

_ Now, all he needed was some ink, a needle, and…  _

* * *

Kakashi's students were acting even weirder today. Sakura wasn't that bad, but Naruto…

Well, at least he was wearing more than a mesh top today—for a second Kakashi thought he was going to take after Anko, and was afraid that that was somehow his fault. 

Not that a sleeveless hoodie and  _ several new tattoos _ were much better. Kakashi was starting to think this was less the  _ past _ , and more an  _ alternative universe _ . Either way, he was going to try his best to do better this time. 

Oh, and then there was Sasuke who had apparently decided he wanted to be even  _ more  _ emo now, as evidenced by his new side bangs covering one eye. (Ironically, it was the same eye he covered in the future when he was trying to be subtle about having a Rinnegan. Weird coincidence, huh…)

Ah, well. Alternate Universe or not, he was still going to do his best. 

Starting with not being late. 

* * *

"What the  _ fuck— _ "

Kakashi really didn't think this deserved such an extreme reaction, especially considering they shouldn't know about his— _ ahem _ , "bad habit" yet…

Smiling, Kakashi pulled out two bells. 

"Now, let me explain the rules of the Bell Test…"


	4. Part 4

Yosh.  _ The Bell Test _ . Can’t mess this up.  _ Incredibly  _ important. Okay. Not stressful at all,  _ nope _ —

“The rules are simple: You have until noon to get a bell from me, at which point a timer will go off. Anyone without a bell will be tied to a stump and forced to watch me eat their lunch in front of them. Since there are only two bells, one of you is guaranteed to fail—and whoever that is, will be sent back to the Academy in disgrace. Understood?”

The three preteens nodded. _That was a bit of a...lackluster response._

“Did...did you not hear me? One of you is definitely going to fail.” _Shit, am I laying it on too thick now? Shit, shit, shit…_

“Go at me with everything you’ve got—I’m talking intent to kill here. If you hold  _ anything _ back, you’re going to fail.”

They nodded again, more determined this time. A little… _ too _ determined he would say.  _ Ano _ … 

Should he… just say go? Didn’t Naruto jump the gun last time? What did he do this time around? Did he really mess up that much  _ already _ ?

No, no, no—this is  _ far  _ too different at this point, and there’s no way this could be all caused by him.  _ Clearly _ , there’s only one explanation here:

He’s in a parallel universe.  _ Either that, or Madara succeeded…  _

Whatever. He’s just going to have to go at it his best and hope it all goes well— _ alternate universes are surprisingly unpredictable _ .

* * *

Sasuke…has no idea how this went last time. Honestly, he wasn’t really paying attention to anyone besides himself, except to evaluate Kakashi.

He’s…really starting to get frustrated with his younger self.

* * *

Thank god for his healing factor or he would be a lot worse off.

Naruto really didn’t think through the logic in giving himself tattoos the morning before he had to take the Bell Test.

His arms  _ really _ itched.

To be honest, he wasn’t really paying much attention at all to what Kakashi-sensei was saying. All he could think about was how much it  _ itched _ . This really wasn’t a good idea. He couldn’t have waited  _ one more day _ to have infinite pockets? It’s not like he even  _ used  _ ninja tools much anyway—all of his favorite techniques only required hand seals and nothing more.

( _ Sage, it itches _ —)

* * *

Sakura wacked herself in the face a total of seven times this morning. Seven times is far too many times to slap yourself in the face with your own hair. Sakura has  _ really _ gotta find a better solution to this hair problem. Maybe a different hairstyle? Or maybe she should just say 'to hell with it' and cut it off already. But then  _ how much _ _?_ Ugh. _Decisions, decisions_ … 

Ah, wait,  _ shit _ —

Kakashi was explaining the Bell Test, and judging by the look on his face (eye?) she really should’ve been paying more attention.  _ Ah, hell _ … 

She doesn’t remember him acting like this last time so clearly this is her fault. Should she be swooning more? Did she swoon more last time? She can’t imagine why she’d be fawning over Sasuke while the Test was being explained—she was infatuated, but not  _ that _ infatuated.

Is…he didn’t start the Test yet, did he? _Oh, sage…_

* * *

“Maa,” Kakashi panicked, “enough stalling.”

He took out his book, and averted his eyes from his extremely stress-inducing students.

“Ready, set…go.”

They launched at him.

**_Fuck_ ** **—**

* * *

This time Sasuke decided not to wait around and instead thought to be the first one to get an attack in.

He didn’t expect both Naruto  _ and _ Sakura to have the same idea.

_ Oh, hell _ —

* * *

What the  _ hell _ , **he’s** supposed to be the one who rushes in headfirst without thinking, why the  _ fuck _ are **they** —

* * *

Sakura had about a second to regret all of her decisions in life before they collided.

* * *

Kakashi was going to kill them.

They’d  _ ruined _ his  _ Icha Icha _ .

They’d gone too far this time.

No mercy for the children.

* * *

Oh,  _ hell _ —

* * *

On instinct, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all chose to stick together when they madly sprinted away from their enraged and manic sensei.

Far away in the foliage, they huddled to discuss plans.

* * *

“Alright,” Sakura said, automatically taking charge after years of habit. Also out of habit, Naruto and Sasuke listened attentively. “We’ve made him— _ very _ —mad. We can use this. Now that he’s angry, he’ll be more reckless and we’ll have a better shot.”

“Unfortunately,” Sasuke added on, “he’ll also be going all out. Before we might’ve been able to take advantage of him underestimating us, but now he’s not going to go easy on us.”

“No use in fussing about that now,” Naruto grumbled, still slightly miffed that they’d stolen his ‘knuckleheaded’ shtick from him.

“Naruto’s right,” Sakura cut in, “what’s done is done. Now we have to work with what we’ve got, and what we’ve got is an enraged and reckless Kakashi-sensei. _Now_ …how can we monopolize on that?”

* * *

In the end, it wasn’t all that hard—Sasuke had nearly gotten a bell in the original timeline, afterall—and he was just a bullheaded and arrogant little dweeb then, blinded by his tiny little ego!

Kakashi was angry, sure—but he was still expecting them to be weak little genin…meanwhile, Sakura and Sasuke couldn’t help secretly using abilities they technically shouldn’t have…nothing big, just a root here and there to trip him up, and some pushes and pulls to move things to not-quite-where-they-were-before. Naruto was the only one to 'behave' so to speak.

And in the end, they managed to snatch the bells.

* * *

_ (Kakashi breathed a huge sigh of relief—with how different things were going he wasn’t sure he was gonna be able to find an excuse to pass them. Luckily, they still managed to pass on their own, and so Team 7 perseveres.) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have SO MANY thing s to do hOLY FUKC i m rUNNING OUT OF TIME VKJDFNGVDFjdkfnkfuckfuckfukckdcdfkj


	5. Part 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've figured out what to do w kakashi but i can't tell y'all yet bc i want it to be a surprize ^^

“Do you have eyes on the target?”

“Hai, sensei,” Sasuke reported, sharingan blazing, “He’s on Training Field 8.” With a quick glance to make sure no one else was watching, Sasuke did a quick “pull” to bring Tora closer to him.

Sakura arrived on the scene moments later, and her eyes immediately locked onto the cat. Naruto arrived soon after, and when Sasuke looked back after glancing in Naruto’s direction for only a moment he found that the cat had somehow gotten himself tangled up in some underbrush that he distinctly didn’t recall being there a moment ago—he would know, he’d had his sharingan activated at the time.

_ Definitely something odd about that.... _

“Sensei,” Sakura started, carefully detangling the cat from the underbrush, “the target is secure.”

“Yosh, return to base.”

* * *

_ Hmm… _

_ Shouldn't they be getting tired of this by now? _

Kakashi swore last time he remembers his genin being particularly intolerant of D-rank missions. And yet he hasn't heard a  _ single word of complaint _ . Isn't it about time for the C-rank-turned-A-rank-mission in Wave?

What should he do?

If he doesn't say anything his genin will continue happily doing easy ( _ totally safe, newly-minted genin-appropriate _ ) D-rank missions. 

But if he  _ does _ say something then he'll be taking three baby genin on an extremely dangerous mission they aren't guaranteed to survive (they  _ barely _ managed last time).

But if he  _ doesn't _ say anything then some other little genin with a much less capable sensei and no forewarning are going to go on that mission and  _ undoubtedly  _ get themselves killed. 

But if he  _ does _ say something then at least they won't be going in totally blind like last time. This time, he'll be  _ prepared _ . 

_ Sigh.  _ That settles it. 

He'll have to ask the Hokage for a C-rank. 

* * *

Being a genin is great. No difficult life-threatening missions, just mind-numbing chores. Painting fences, weeding gardens, finding lost pets. Naruto doesn't know why he was in such a rush last time, this is  _ great _ . 

He's not gonna say a word of complaint; he's happy to just enjoy this while it lasts.  _ Although _ … 

Kakashi-sensei's been giving him weird looks for a while now. He can't fathom why—he's fixed his wardrobe, after all. Maybe it's the tattoos…

But why would sensei find that strange? It's not like he knew him before this. 

Maybe sensei doesn't approve of tattoos?  _ Hmm _ …

* * *

_ Wow…it's taking Naruto a long time to break.  _

Last time she could've sworn he cracked and started asking for C-rank missions  _ way  _ earlier on. These D-ranks are relaxing, but she's getting a little impatient. 

The Wave Mission will be a perfect excuse for a sudden change in her behavior—she's getting  _ really  _ tired of the whole "fangirl" schtick and pretending to be inept.

_ If she has to call him "Sasuke-kun" oNE MORE TIME— _

* * *

Mission parameters:

One. Don't act suspicious. Blend in. Don't show off any abilities you shouldn't have. 

Two. Underperform enough that they underestimate you, but don't over do it to the point that they become suspicious. 

Three. Act vulnerable. Lost. Allow Danzō to come to you. 

Four. Disembowel Danzō. Make it bloody. Make him suffer. 

Five. Drop Danzō's bloody corpse in a highly populated area. Make sure his crimes and theft are visible. Show them all what he's been hiding. 

_ Wait, no— _

Amendment: drop body in an area only populated by shinobi. Do not scar any civilians. 

Wait, second amendment: drop body in an area only populated by  _ adult _ shinobi. Do not scar any shinobi  _ children  _ either. 

Okay, okay—that seems good.  _ Oh _ , and—

Six. Don't get caught. 

And finally, the most important: Seven. Clear Nii-san's name. 

That'll probably be the hardest part. Wiping the floor with Danzō will be a piece of cake at his skill level; the only issue will be getting to him when he's not surrounded by his Root lackeys. The paranoid bastard brings them with him everywhere, even to his  _ house _ . 

Not that Sasuke would know that. It's not like he's been following him around for weeks and staking out his house. Sasuke's not a  _ literal  _ stalker,  _ nope _ —

Plausible deniability, fuckers.

— _ YOU CAN'T PROVE  _ **_ANYTHING_ ** —

* * *

"Ne, Hokage-sama…don't you think it's time for these brats to get a C-rank mission?"

"What," said Naruto. 

"What," said Sasuke. 

"What," said the Hokage. 

"WHAT," said Iruka. 

" _ Finally _ ," whispered Sakura. 

"Maa…it's just, they've been doing D-ranks for a while now and they've been having absolutely no trouble…"

_ Oops _ , thought the three  _ technically _ -genin. 

"Hmm…" The Hokage chewed on his pipe thoughtfully whilst dramatically tapping his chin. 

"Hokage-sama, you can't  _ seriously  _ be considering this!" Naruto noted Iruka-sensei looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel. 

"Kakashi-kun," the Hokage asked, "do you  _ honestly  _ feel your genin team is ready for something like this?" Sarutobi knew Kakashi. After the tragedy of his last genin team there was  _ no way _ he would risk them like this if he didn't  _ truly  _ feel they were ready. 

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Kakashi was unwavering. 

Sarutobi sighed. "Alright then. In that case, I believe we have the perfect mission for you and your team—"

* * *

And after that, it went much like it did the last time—

_ Just kidding _ . 

* * *

Tazuna the Drunk stumbled into the room, a bottle hanging from his hand and him reeking of cheap liquor. 

He immediately insulted all those in the vicinity, calling Sasuke an "angsty punk," Naruto a "tatted hoodlum," Sakura a "silly little girl," and Kakashi a "suspicious, masked stoner."

All four members of Team 7 were about five seconds from saying "fuck it," but they nobly endured. 

_ This bitch better be grateful, how dARE— _

* * *

Naruto had taken to wearing long sleeves when going out after everyone kept staring at him all the time, and not in the way he was used to. Now he only wears shorter sleeves when training with his team, who have already become used to it. That's probably why Iruka-sensei didn't comment on his…more recent modifications.  _ Improvements _ , he would say. 

However, since they were going to be going on an out-of-village mission where the only people he was going to encounter who knew him were already used to his tattooed seals (and since Tazuna the  _ Rude  _ had already labeled him a "tatted hoodlum") he didn't bother with the long sleeves—they would probably get in the way and hinder him when fighting anyway since he was no longer used to fighting in long sleeves, both in this new timeline and the last. 

He did end up tying a jacket around his waist anyway just in case—

Islands are chilly.

Lots of wind. 

_ Brr _ . 

Although, the Kyūbi's chakra usually keeps him pretty warm—

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura took to packing extra weapons since they both remembered how this mission went last time, and were determined to never again be a burden to their teammates. (Last time, both of them had had to resort to using their own bodies as a shield— _ never again _ .)

Meanwhile Kakashi made sure to pack extra soldier pills. (When you’re at war you don’t have time to sit out battles because you’re in a weeklong coma—Kakashi had learned his lesson; he was never going to burden his allies by recklessly passing out from chakra exhaustion ever again.)

* * *

The morning of the mission all of Team 7 met up at the gates; not one of them was late.

Naruto’s arms were bare revealing whorling spirals and messy kanji, a warm jacket tied securely around his waist. Over the mesh, he had added a sleeveless navy top to ward off any creepy staring.

Sakura’s hair was once again tied back and her hitai-ate was correctly protecting her forehead. She had added bandages to her shins and forearms as a temporary measure of additional protection.

Sasuke’s hair was swept to the side to cover one eye, and he had—in a fit of defiance—tied his hitai-ate so that the metal plate was out-of-sight covering the back of his neck.

Kakashi…looked exactly the same.

* * *

Tazuna the Annoying was just as annoying as they remembered him to be.

* * *

~~C-rank~~ A-rank Mission: Protect the Bridge-Builder  _ starts now. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: when tazuna called naruto a "tatted hoodlum" he was talking about his whisker marks; his actual tattoos were safely hidden (from iruka) beneath a warm hoodie :)


	6. Part 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the wave mission begins. first hurdle: the demon brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> quick update i just typed up in celebration of the test i finished (and probably passed) about an hour ago

Besides the … unusual outfit changes, the mission started off much the same as last time. Sort of. Well. Not really. He thinks. Kakashi’s going to be honest here, he can’t actually remember it that well considering it was like a _decade ago._

Anyway, so he's pretty sure it didn’t go this way last time, although _technically_ he can’t say for certain. But from what he _does_ remember of the beginning of the Wave mission … he remembers this:

Naruto, stupidly confident and recklessly fearless; a non-stop chatterbox. Sakura, careless and distracted and bouncing back and forth between vying for Sasuke’s attention and arguing with Naruto. Sasuke, dangerously arrogant and dismissive of his teammates; a weird mix of angry and bored. All three of them more occupied with the excitement of their first excursion out of the village than with actually paying attention to their client—y’know, the guy they’re supposedly supposed to be _guarding?_

But how are they behaving _now?_

_Well._

Besides the looks they’re all giving each other? Naruto is quiet— _creepily quiet._ And he keeps furtively glancing around. His shoulders are all hunched up to his ears. He looks paranoid. Was he this nervous about leaving the village last time? He didn’t recall.

Sakura kept checking over her bandages—was she not used to them yet? Maybe it was a last second decision, but now that she finds it uncomfortable she’s reluctant to give in and take them off. Speaking of, she definitely didn't have those last time? She looks determined, though. Determined to keep them on? Hm.

Sasuke… actually wasn’t that much different— _besides the hitai-ate thing, of course._ What was the deal with that, anyway? Some sort of weird fashion statement? He would’ve expected that sort of thing from kid-Sakura, not angsty kid-Sasuke. But disregarding the out-of-character fashion choices, Sasuke was acting just as gloomy and apathetic as he would expect. And the arrogance? Definitely there, alright. Sasuke looked like he honestly expected he could handle anything that came his way.

But, oh boy if he knew … there’s no way Sasuke was in any way expecting how this mission would turn out— _who would?_ This was supposed to be an average, routine C-rank—a simple job just protecting a humble civilian from potential bandits. They weren’t even supposed to face any shinobi _at all_ , let alone an _S-rank missing-nin from the Bloody Mist, holy fuck._

Speaking of missing-nin … there’s that stupid, idiotic puddle hiding those pathetic chūnin “demon brothers” … what should he do?

Last time he faked his death (yes, he realizes that was kind of fucked up, okay, but he had his reasons, dammit) and let his little genin try facing off against them to, _one_ , see what they’d do and how well they’d handle it, and _two_ , to give them some experience to help them mature. But, what was the point in that now? He already knew how they’d react (roughly, probably, _maybe_ ) and what was the point in “experience” when he knew they’d be facing the Demon of the Bloody Mist soon enough. And it’s not like he didn’t know about what Tazuna was hiding! There’s no point! Fuck it, he’ll just deal with the bloody (no pun intended) mist chūnin himself.

_… actually … he just had an absolutely ridiculous idea._

What if he just … very casually … slid up his hitai-ate, and … kamui’d the shit outta that puddle? Would that be fucked up or what? _Actually, no, wait_ —

What exactly happened to the shit he kamui’d? It goes straight to Obito’s dimension, right? Does that mean that time he kamui’d Deidara’s arm out of existence … 

If he kamui’d that puddle would it go to the dimension? Would they come out of the puddle and find themselves in that dimension? What if Obito—what if they _stabbed Obito’s_ —

Oh dear. Okay, maybe ixnay on the kamui’ing of live shinobi, yeah? Yeah. _Oh-_ kay.

Then—ah. _What is Naruto … ?_

* * *

“Sensei, sensei, sensei—!” Naruto _screeched._

“Yes, Naruto,” Kakashi responded _patiently._

“Ne, ne, sensei, I was always _really_ bad at science, you see—”

“O-kay … ?”

“—so I was just _wondering_ , how come there can be a puddle then when it hasn’t rained in like, _weeks!”_

“ … “

“ … sensei?”

“That’s … actually a really good question, Naruto. See, because—”

**_Splash._ **

The _nerve._ They didn’t even let him finish! Just for that, he’ll let them bleed out, how _rude_ —

* * *

Sakura’s scream was less a scream and more a battlecry. The other members of Team 7 were thrown completely off guard and didn’t even have the chance to react to the two nukenin _suddenly appearing from a shitty little puddle like a bad magic act_ before she had hurled two kunai with chakra enhanced arms and … well.

That’s one thing taken care of.

Tazuna looked oddly shaken, Sage knows why.

Oh, well. That’s not important right now. What _is_ important—

“Ne, ne, Tazuna-san … I think there’s something you forgot to mention to us … care to explain, Ta. Zu. Na. Sa. _N?“_

Tazuna gulped audibly.

_**“Ne?”** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm celebrating th at one test but hooo boy i have SO MANY more things to do, oH boy


End file.
